TINA NORDEN – PRINCIPAL AND PARTNER, CONRAN AND PARTNERS

Posted in People on 25 February, 2024

With views reaching out across the urban mangroves of Mumbai, Taj the Trees offers a new face to the Taj Hotel brand. Having recently completed the interiors, Tina Norden discusses the concept, design and joys of working with a can-do team.

Words by Emma Kennedy

Mumbai is known for many things – street markets, festivals, global finance, and of course Bollywood. Less known is the vast sprawling Vikhroli mangrove that fringes the west bank of the Thane Creek. In 1948 the Godrej family acquired several hundred acres of the land to set up an Industrial Garden Township for their business that was experiencing exponential growth. Admirably ahead of their time, as multiple factories, workshops, and housing rose out of the dense vegetation, the rich biodiversity of the mangrove was recognised, and the family sought to protect the ecosystem from the very beginning.

Like much of India, Vikhroli is now embracing the future and being redeveloped into a vast mixed-use campus. The vision is big, and the flagship development – led by Godrej Properties – The Trees in Vikhroli, Mumbai, will effectively be a town within a city. As part of the new sustainable development, Taj the Trees, Mumbai, is the very contemporary result of the dynastic partnership of the Godrej Group and the Tata Group.

When considering the design of a typical Taj hotel, I think it’s fair to say, Conran and Partners wouldn’t necessarily be an obvious choice. Recognised more for their cool contemporary aesthetic as opposed to the more traditional ‘Tajness’ associated with the Indian brand, when the call came in 2019 from Creative Director, Amit Gupta, it took them by surprise.

Nonya restaurant. PHOTOGRAPH: Vikas Munipalle

“It came completely out of the blue,” Tina begins, “It was an interesting one, because when you hear the name Taj, you think palaces, glamour, and abundance. But that was just one side of it. On the other side there was Godrej and the campus, which is very modern and very contemporary. The surrounding buildings are a mix of white stone, concrete, and rendered walls – it’s all very minimal. So, the two couldn’t be further away from each other, but it was the campus that was informing our brief. The coming together of these two big families: Tata and Godrej, together created a much bigger strategy. Godrej was very much driving the fact that they didn’t want the hotel to be a classic Taj. As a new build, they saw it as a new vision for the future.”

Acknowledging this could have proposed a design dilemma Tina went on to explain this wasn’t a unique problem. “This isn’t uncommon when we work on hotels. Often the operator and the owner don’t fully align on their ambitions, but it always comes together in the end. We were all aware of the fact that the Taj team had to ensure we remained on brand, with this being a Taj and not one of their more contemporary brands. We wanted to make sure that we discussed and worked through the proposals as a team.’

Shamiana restaurant. PHOTOGRAPH: Vikas Munipalle

Fortunately, this period coincided with the Taj Group implementing a new management team, led by CEO Puneet Chhatwal. A meeting was arranged to present the designs to check the new CEO was happy. “Right from the start, Mr Chhatwal was supportive.” Clearly an admirer, Tina continued, “He is very strategic – very switched on to what’s happening, and I have a huge respect for him. I believe for him it wasn’t so much about whether he liked the design or not, but more about whether it was the right thing for both the brand and the partnership as well as showing a different facet to Taj; what modern luxury can be.”

With the design gates now open, working alongside Godrej’s in-house Studio Vikhroli, Tina and her team continued with the design process. Appreciating that it isn’t always plain sailing when collaborating with another design team I ask Tina about that aspect of the project. “It was stressed right from the beginning that we would be working together and that they were there on-site. So, in effect, they looked after the execution – and thankfully so, because it was during COVID in the end.  We have worked with clients that are interested in the design process before, but never with a proper design team as engaged as they were. That was quite unusual. The effort and the hard work they put into it, and the fact they really cared about achieving the best result was great. And it was always from a creative viewpoint – never purely financial. It worked so well.”

Above: Main Lobby (PHOTOGRAPH: Jaideep Oberoi) and, Top: Guestroom. PHOTOGRAPH: Vikas Munipalle

With myriad factors to draw inspiration from, I ask Tina about the concept and how they approached it. “When we build up our concepts, there is a whole tapestry of things that we look at. In the case of Taj the Trees, obviously the history of Taj as a brand couldn’t be ignored, but also the history of Godrej, which too is a brand with its own history, and then of course the ambition for the site. One of our team members is from Mumbai, so it was good to have someone who had a local understanding and appreciation of the city. They feel very strongly that when creating something that is Indian it shouldn’t be a pastiche of the past. There are so many exciting and modern things happening – in design, craft, architecture – in everything. So, we wanted to take from the past and elevate it into the present. That’s what we were wanting to capture. It wasn’t about it being completely international – by which I mean faceless. We wanted to deliver something that was still very much rooted in India, with their traditions and crafts, used in a very modern way. For example, we looked at timber work. Indian timber work is very strong so, we’ve made it very contemporary, with a lot of slatted detailing. The same with stonework – we’ve used lots of beautiful marble floors and panels. But then we have also brought in artworks, and the bedheads, for example are woven images taken from the mangroves – which are beautiful and intricate. It’s about playing on things in a very modern way.”

Looking at the very beautiful images, popping up on the screen, the hotel has the undeniable hallmark of Conran and Partners, and I ask Tina about the palette. “It’s a very light palette, because that was very much Mr. Godrej’s preference,” she tells me, before smiling as she sweeps her eyes around their studio in Clerkenwell, “and I guess, ours too. We’ve used a lot of light timber and light stones, and there’s obviously marble to add that level of exuberance. But then we also have quite a lot of richness within the artworks and the furniture. There’s a very beautiful piece behind the reception, which has quite dark, intense tones. But generally speaking, it’s a quiet, natural palette, without too many strong colours. It’s about using materials in their natural state, if you like, which then refers back to the mangroves and the storyline of sitting in that natural part of the city, I guess.”

Throughout the interview, Tina is palpably upbeat about the whole project. “I loved working on this,” she beams. “You know, it was personally my first time working with an client from India, and I really enjoyed it. There was a positive can-do attitude, which made it fun! To also have a client who is incredibly supportive of the design, and the design discussion is special. So often we present to clients, who are not really that interested in the process – they just want to hurry through and see the visuals. So, to have a client who is interested in the narrative and the thought behind the design decisions is quite rare.”

Spa and Wellness centre. PHOTOGRAPH: Jaideep Oberoi

Having only opened weeks before the interview, I asked Tina if she had seen the finished project.

“We went when it was almost complete. The workmanship is incredible. And I think that’s all kudos to the client because they were there on a daily basis making sure that it was to the highest standard. So often on a project, the workmanship can be a bit rough around the edges when you look closely, but it’s all been executed beautifully.”